Lead Build Engineer, Composites

Mach Industries•Huntington Beach, CA

About The Position

Mach Industries is a rapidly growing defense technology company founded in 2023, developing next-generation autonomous defense platforms and decentralized defense systems. The company has approximately 350 employees and focuses on advanced manufacturing and national security. The Lead Build Engineer (Composites) will own the integration, build, and testing of composite structures and assemblies, from early prototypes through production ramp. The role operates across design, manufacturing, and test to ensure products can be built reliably, repeatedly, and at production rate. It is a hands-on, on-floor role focused on solving real-time build problems and driving hardware to completion. The position leads composite build execution and process development, supports factory and production-line bring-up, and partners with design engineering to improve manufacturability, yield, rate, cost efficiency, and reliability. It also plans and executes tests, investigates failures, and implements corrective actions. The role may require access to technology controlled under U.S. export laws and is subject to applicable authorization requirements.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field.
At least 3 years of hands-on experience with composite structures in aerospace, defense, or high-performance automotive.
Demonstrated experience building physical hardware, not solely designing it.
Availability to work extended hours and weekends as needed.
Must meet applicable U.S. export-control authorization requirements for access to protected information or technology, or be eligible to obtain required authorizations.

Nice To Haves

Deep experience with one or more of prepreg layup and oven/autoclave cure, resin infusion or RTM, and filament winding.
Strong understanding of composite failure modes, including delamination, porosity, and fiber misalignment.
Strong understanding of tooling design and cure behavior.
Strong understanding of adhesives and bonded-joint design.
Experience scaling processes from prototype to production.
Familiarity with NDI methods such as ultrasound, CT, and thermography.
Familiarity with CNC trimming of composites.
Familiarity with ply cutting, kitting, and material-handling systems.
Ability to read and interpret ply books, laminate schedules, engineering drawings, and GD&T.

Responsibilities

Lead hands-on builds of composite structures such as airframes, tanks, ducts, and control surfaces.
Drive daily execution against build schedules by removing blockers, resequencing work, and maintaining momentum.
Translate engineering intent into executable builds under real-world constraints.
Define and execute bonding, fastening, trimming, and finishing operations.
Lead fit-up, alignment, and tolerance closure across multi-part assemblies.
Develop and refine composite processes, including manual and automated layup, oven or autoclave cure cycles, trimming, machining, and secondary bonding.
Iterate processes from prototype builds toward repeatable mass production.
Identify design issues early, including ply drops, access constraints, tolerance stackups, and cure distortion.
Partner with design engineering to simplify builds and improve yield, production rate, cost efficiency, and reliability.
Plan and execute structural and functional tests of composite assemblies.
Own investigations of failures such as bond failures, delamination, voids, and distortion, and implement corrective actions.
Define build sequences, tooling requirements, and work instructions at the appropriate execution tier.
Support production-line bring-up and operator training.
Respond to build issues on the factory floor.